Genoa–Pisa Maritime Rivalry

Timeline

1. 1215–1217Cagliari · SardiniaLamberto Visconti, judge of Gallura backed by Pisa, captured the Fort of San Gilla overlooking Cagliari in 1215, forcing Benedicta, female judge of Cagliari, into exile inland. In 1217 his brother Ubaldo compelled Benedicta to return Cagliari as a vassal, bringing Pisa's colonial control of Sardinia to a new height.
2. 1217Northern Sardinia · SardiniaAfter violent clashes between Pisans and Sardinians escalated within Cagliari, Benedicta joined forces with Comita III, judge of Torres, and the Republic of Genoa in an attempt to expel Pisan influence. Genoa saw this as a key opportunity to break Pisa's monopoly over Sardinia and Corsica and to expand its western Mediterranean routes.
3. 1217Rome and Sardinia · ItalyPope Honorius III revoked the appointment of the Pisan Marianus to the archbishopric of Cagliari, instead sending Cardinal Ugolino de Conti (later Pope Gregory IX) as papal legate for Sardinia and Corsica, and urging Milan to aid the judge of Torres. The papal intervention added an ecclesiastical-diplomatic dimension to the Genoa–Pisa rivalry, but armed conflict on Sardinia continued for decades.